Storm of Shadows

This chapter grew arms and legs, though I have a fair idea I won't get many complaints about the extra page or possibly two? You lovely readers are always complaining that there is never enough in a chapter :) Lots going on in this one, catching up with what's been going on elsewhere as well as in Europe. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Seventeen

Dara walked beside Nors, hovering close as he was the one carrying the unconscious wolf down the mountainside. They were being ushered unceremoniously back down, Demetri's patience having come to an end a minute after she'd admitted her claim to the wounded male. She had to admit it was a minor miracle he'd managed to hold his patience that long. Their adopted uncle wasn't known for having any unless it was directed at Mara or Annie. She had to admit that it had settled her wolf down a bit more when the volatile vampire had muttered a curse and started ordering them all around. She'd needed some normality after everything that had happened.

Her thoughts were in chaos, her heartbeat still a bit elevated. When she'd followed Kothi to Europe it had been to help her friend and try to find Gard and Rayne. She'd never expected him to find his mate while they were over here, let alone find her own into the bargain. If Kothi hadn't lost his shit at his parents going missing there was a strong possibility that neither of them would have found their mates. That was a sobering thought and probably one their Alpha would need to consider given Elle and Kal were still to find theirs. It was something she might need to broach with him when they returned, and she wondered if that thought had occurred to the others.

Dara let her gaze travel over their group as they took a more sedate pace back towards civilisation taking into consideration Tali's insistence that she needed to build up her strength and she couldn't do that if everyone was carrying her around all the time. It had been a valid point and one that Kothi had surprisingly agreed to with ease though it had tightened Demetri's lips slightly before he nodded his agreement.

Freya appeared to be trying to freak Louis out by smiling at him and being downright pleasant to him. Dara's lips twitched in amusement as she caught her uncle's amused glance and realised her guess was correct. Yup, Freya was playing with the darkhaired vampire, and she had to admit it was quite amusing to see his consternation.

Her gaze wandered over to Kothi who was walking beside Tali and Mila with Dante on the other side of the petite vampire. Her lips twitched more as she watched both males all but hovering over the two females as if they were fragile China dolls. Her friend's overprotectiveness she could understand. He'd only just found Tali and it hadn't been that long ago she'd almost died. Add in the fact that Kothi was new to expressing his emotions and his silly behaviour was understandable, but she wasn't sure what it was that prevented Dante from accepting what was bloody obvious to all around him. He was head over heels in love with Mila and she clearly shared his feelings. They had to be soulmates, so why the hell were they dancing around each other and pretending they were just friends? There was a story there that she didn't know, but she was sure it would all come out in the wash at some point.

Gard and Rayne were a little behind them, Gard having borrowed her phone to call his sister. She hadn't minded allowing him the use of it, Annie had been beside herself with worry when she'd lost contact with her brother from another time. She needed this reassurance that both he and Rayne were fine. Joshua was walking on the other side of Nors, his body relaxed though his expression thoughtful. Dara found herself liking the blond coven leader. He had done a lot to help them on this trip into his territory. She would actually miss him when they returned home and that made her feel a little sad, but it was good to know that they had him over here keeping an eye on things, that they had someone they could trust implicitly.

Her gaze slid back to the unconscious male being cradled gently by Nors to minimise any further injuries to his already damaged body. He had still not regained consciousness and that was concerning her even as she was relieved that he was unaware of the amount of pain his ravaged body was causing him.

Holy fuck, he was her mate! Just the thought of that filled her with a joy she'd never experienced before just as it filled her with a fury that was almost uncontrollable. Her wolf wanted to kill every vampire on the European continent barring their friends, and whilst she could understand the animal's base instincts, she had to force her to obey her more practical side.

Yes, vampires had hurt their mate. Yes, it was completely unacceptable. But you couldn't tar every single vampire with the same brush as those who had hurt Fox. They had a shining example all around them of just how good and decent some of the vampires in Europe could be. Apart from that first, brief lapse of control, she was back to her usual level-headed self, trying to analyse what this would all mean for her going forward.

She didn't know Fox and he didn't know her either. He was also badly wounded and would take a while to heal from those injuries. She couldn't very well run around chasing him like a lovestruck teenager just because he was her soulmate. Fox needed time to heal and they needed time to get to know one another. Her wolf wasn't happy about that scenario but Dara knew it was the right thing to do. They had eternity to be together, a few more days or weeks wouldn't make that much of a difference.

Settling on her course of action, Dara allowed herself to relax a little more now that she knew what she was doing. This beautiful male was hers and there was no mistaking that, but she could wait until the time was right. Coming to that decision and seeing some of the bruises fading on Fox's body was enough to settle her wolf a bit more too, and Dara was able to leave her mate in Nors' care, heading over to join Kothi and his group a little further down the trail.

As soon as she reached them she could tell there was discord between Dante and Mila once more and she quirked an eyebrow at her friend in a silent question. Kothari rolled his eyes at her and gave a small shake of his head, telling her not to ask.

"Will you stop being so bloody pig-headed, Dante?" Mila said in a waspish tone which was so not like her. Whatever was transpiring between them had clearly been going on for a while.

"Me? Pig-headed? I'm not the one who's just announced that she's heading stateside with everyone when they leave, Mila. First arguing about going back up the mountainside and now this? I don't know what the fuck has gotten into you lately but I certainly don't like it." The darkhaired vampire's tone was a tad on the chilly side, his anger blatant for all to hear. There was also a touch of confusion in his tone, as if he truly couldn't understand why his friend of so long was suddenly becoming so obstinate.

Mila rounded on him, her own anger dancing across her pretty face. "I don't care if you like it or not, Dante Castillo. I've told you why I've come to this decision and that should be enough for you. I shouldn't even have had to justify my decisions to you in the first place, but I did out of deference to our long friendship. I'm not discussing this with you any further. I am going stateside and that is the end of it. You are free to do whatever it is your conscience feels is right for you. I'm not expecting you to follow me around like a little puppy dog."

The petite vampire stomped away from them, moving over to Nors and Joshua, her shoulders rigid with indignation. Dante stared at her open mouthed for a long moment and then he clamped his lips together and scowled darkly.

Kothari intense gaze fell on the vampire and he scrutinised him for a long moment, and then he turned to Dara. "Would you mind walking with Tali for a little while, Dara? I would like to have a private word with Dante."

That appeared to surprise the vampire and his scowling expression turned slightly alarmed as his gaze shot to the unpredictable Vârcolac. Dara could understand the vampire's sudden unease but nothing she saw in her friend indicated he was likely to cause the other male any harm.

"You're not going to lose your shit again are you?"

She sent down their Vârcolac mental link and almost laughed at the outraged snort that came back at her.

"I'm just going to give his ass a gentle kick, Dar. Nothing to be concerned about."

She kept her gaze on him for a moment longer, and then she smiled. He was being truthful with her. "Come on, Tali. Let's give the boys time to do some male bonding. Who knows, this might be the formation of a new bromance."

"Fuck off," Kothari laughed, genuine emotion crossing his face as he shook his head at his best friend. The laughter died on his lips as he looked at her, finally realising what it was she meant to him. Dara Romanov was his best friend. She had always been that to him even though he'd never vocalised it. All that time he'd been mooning about her calling her his Angel he'd put that down to the mating instinct. But it had never been that and she had still been his Angel. Because that was what his best friend was to him, an angel helping to stave off the devil he had cast Agony into the role of being.

"Luv you, Dar," he muttered softly, and her eyes widened in astonishment, and then filled with moisture that she quickly brushed away.

"Luv you too, Kothi," she replied in a soft voice that was full of emotion. "Even if you are a pain in the ass most of the time." She couldn't help it she had to poke some fun at him. Being sentimental with her friend just felt weird. She knew it was for Kothari too and his half smile let her know that he was grateful for her usual teasing.

They wandered off as Kothari hung back with Dante who had watched the exchange between the Vârcolac with some curiosity, knowing instinctually that sharing their feelings with each other wasn't the norm for them by their reactions.

As soon as everyone was out of hearing range Kothari turned to the vampire with a dark scowl on his face. His expression must have been worse than he'd meant it to be because the vampire immediately tensed as if expecting to be attacked. Kothari sighed and tried to dial back some of his aggression. He wasn't used to trying to be diplomatic with others and he was clearly failing at his first attempt with Dante.

He took a deep breath and tried to be less threatening. "Tell me truthfully, Dante, what did you think of me when we first met?" He was pleased with how reasonable his tone was and made a note of it so he would know the correct level of authority and confidence to use with others without being a complete ass.

Dante stared at the Vârcolac for a long moment wondering if he should temper his answer and then decided that it was pointless as Kothari would probably be able to tell that was what he was doing. "Frankly, you scared the shit out of me," he answered. "I made Louis send everyone away because I knew that you had the power to destroy the entire coven if you didn't like what you heard that day. I didn't know if either Louis or I would come out of that meeting alive. I was under no illusions that either of us could have stopped you from killing us if that had been your intent."

Kothari nodded in agreement. That was precisely how their first meeting had gone and Dante was correct. He had been a hairsbreadth away from killing the vampire. If Mila hadn't screamed that the pack he'd left Pippa with were under attack then Dante being here at his side might never had happened. He felt bad about that now but knew he couldn't change the past. It had taken him almost losing Natalia to understand that. It appeared to be a lesson his new friend needed to learn.

"You summed up our first meeting correctly," he sighed softly, "and this will likely be the only time I ever apologise to you for wounding you that day so file it away in your memory. I'm sorry Dante." He punctuated his bluntness by giving the other male a small smile.

"I do not know your story, but I will tell you a little of mine," he continued, staring out into the distance as if seeing something the vampire couldn't. "I have always walked in darkness, even before I took my first breath in this world. I have always battled with Agony, fighting to contain that darkness so I would never inadvertently harm someone I loved again. The only way I could do this was to hurt myself, the way you saw me hurt myself that day. Cutting myself, causing my body pain was the only way to focus my mind and make me strong enough to contain Agony."

Kothari hadn't known what he was going to say to the vampire, and he hadn't expected it to be something so raw and personal to himself, but he sensed a kinship with the darkhaired vampire, kind of the same way both Demetri and Freya sensed that kinship with him. They were particularly brutal with him when he needed his ass kicked. Kothari didn't know if Dante needed that level of brutality though. He guessed he would just need to play it by ear and see how he got on.

He smiled and it was a self-deprecating smile. "I thought I was so strong by doing that," he admitted, not bothering to hide the derision in his tone. "I wore my pain and bloodletting like a badge of honour when all the while I was deluding myself. I pushed everyone I loved away. I segregated myself from my pack. I held my parents at arm's length my entire life, hurting them day after day in my arrogant need to protect them. And then I lost them and Agony gained control and I came here and committed such atrocities all in the name of protecting those I loved. It was only when I almost lost Natalia that I realised just how wrong I had been, not about what I did here in Europe but what I'd been doing my entire life."

His grey eyes turned to the vampire who was listening raptly to what he said, and he could see a level of understanding in the other male's eyes, understood that he had walked a similar path of darkness for his long life.

"I learned that I cannot change the past, Dante. I cannot change the fact that I almost murdered my mother during childbirth, the event that started the whole madness of trying to contain Agony. I learned that the only way to become balanced was to accept Agony, to understand him, and to take a leap of faith with my beautiful mate. I do not know what caused your darkness, and truthfully, I don't know if I even care what it was. What I do know is that there may come a day when you will lose what matters most to you if you continue on the path you have set yourself, if you do not reach out and take what she so freely offers. Find a way to be at peace with your past Dante, before you lose Mila forever."

Dante stared at him, his brows drawing down in a dark scowl. What right did Kothari think he had to butt into his personal business? Even Joshua would never dare intrude on his personal space and they'd been friends for most of their lives. He'd known the Vârcolac less than five minutes and despite Kothari's turn of phrase just now they were most definitely not friends.

"You can scowl at me all you want, Dante. You can tell me to fuck off or try to ignore me. But we both know that there comes a time when there's just nowhere left to run. You think I believe myself superior to you? That I'm being an arrogant little shit giving you advice?"

Dante couldn't keep his expression neutral, his face giving away that he was thinking that very thing though he didn't verbalise it.

Kothari sighed, his gaze turning distant once more as he stared into the treeline surrounding them. "That couldn't be further from the truth," he said in a voice so quiet that no one would be able to hear if they tried, even with their enhanced hearing. "You've survived centuries carrying your darkness around with you and managed to remain sane. You've managed to not only form close friendships but sustain them despite the darkness that haunts your soul. I couldn't even last a quarter of a century with my darkness, Dante. And all I've managed to achieve was to alienate just about everyone who's ever loved me as I self-destructed."

He turned back to the vampire, his gaze intent. "So which one of us is the most superior, vampire? The man-child wallowing in self-pity and self-harming? Or the fierce, strong warrior who took his pain and darkness and honed it into a weapon, spending countless centuries seeking out the evil in this world so he could protect others? I know which one I believe to be superior. How about you?"

Dante's stopped walking his breath catching in his throat. The haunting melancholy he heard in the young Vârcolac's voice ripped at his insides, calling to the protector deep inside him that had championed countless thousands over his long life. This boy, this man-child as he called himself, may be one of the strongest, most ruthless beings to walk the planet, but right here, right now, it was a vulnerable boy who was opening up to him, sharing his own darkness with him so that he might find a way to finally forgive himself for atrocities he'd committed in the past.

Kothari wasn't lording his superiority over him as he'd first taken the other male's words. He wasn't shouting 'look at me, I'm the scariest badass to walk the planet' either. He was looking at him with a level of respect that Dante didn't feel that he deserved, but in context with the young Vârcolac's struggles throughout his life, he could understand because that was how he had looked at Abraham when they had first met, when he'd sensed his mentor's inner darkness that he'd successfully contained and remained sane despite it.

He could understand now why it had been so easy for Freya to redirect the boy when he'd lost his shit when Tali was hurt. He'd been reacting to the volatile vampire's strength at controlling her inner darkness, just as he'd seen Kothari submit to Demetri over smaller things. Like called to like, and there was no denying that Dante was cut from the same cloth as the other vampires and now this Vârcolac at his side.

Perhaps he had finally run out of places to run. Perhaps Mila's more frequent pushbacks was an indicator that he had finally hit that brick wall and there was nowhere else to go? She was slowly beginning to pull away from him, slowly starting to make decisions that didn't include him. And he was lashing out in anger, fighting to keep his hold over his beautiful woman when he'd never truly had her in the first place because he'd denied them both.

Dante took a deep breath and then another one, finding that strange random spot Kothari had to hide his gaze from the other male. It was only as he did so that he realised he was echoing the younger man and his lips twitched in a wry smile as he understood that it had been Kothari's uncomfortableness at being vulnerable with another being that had had the boy looking into the trees.

He finally turned his gaze back to Kothari, his wry smile still on his face. "Oh, you are most definitely the superior one, Kothi," he finally answered his question. "It took you far less time than it's taken me to realise what a fucking idiot you were being. I believe that makes you far superior in all things."

Kothari's expression was surprised for a moment and then he smiled slowly. There was respect in Dante's eyes as he looked at him, and it wasn't the wary type of respect that he was used to seeing from those who were afraid he was about to go batshit crazy. It was the respect of a male who viewed the other as an equal, someone whose view and opinions mattered. It was the respect that was the start of a budding friendship and for the first time he could remember, Kothari didn't open his mouth to push his new friend away, instead he shot him a cocky grin.